Souris Valley Plains A History

Transcription

1 Souris Valley Plains A History Contents Introduction... 2 Chapter 1 Origins of the Souris River and its First Inhabitants... 5 Chapter 2 Indian Migrations, Nations and Wars... 8 Chapter 3 Explorers, Traders and Trading Posts Chapter 4 The Buffalo Hunters Wars with the Sioux Chapter 5 Pallisers Expedition Along the Souris, Discovery of the Coal Fields Chapter 6 Metis Settlements of 1861, Other Early Settlements, Attempts at Feudalism46 <1>

2 INTRODUCTION The following account has little to do with the pioneers who flooded the Souris Valley in the 1880 s. Instead it deals with an earlier period, the little known history of the inhabitants who lived in the era before the pioneers, from the first stone age inhabitants to the traders, trappers and buffalo hunters. A good part of this work also deals with the fascinating people who operated trading posts on the Souris River. The prairies and sandhills of south west Manitoba and the Dakotas must surely have seem strange and lonely to the first men who crossed them. These men, Indians, trappers, traders and hunters were entering a land that had existed millions of years before them. Most would move on to explore new mysteries but a few would linger to act out the story of the Souris Valley Plains. The buffalo hears that roamed the south west were immense. They had arrived in North America from Siberia thousands of years ago and after a long period had sorted themselves into four larges herds numbering in the millions. Two of these herds made periodic visits to south west Manitoba and the Dakotas. In the summer the Republican herd ranged from Wyoming and to southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In the winter the northern herd moved into southern Manitoba. For this reason there were two buffalo hunts a year. From Fort Garry and St. Francois Xavier the buffalo hunters moved into the south Manitoba plains for a summer hunt. This hunt often extended into the Dakotas. It might last six weeks and then the hunters would return home with their supply of pemmican. The winter hunt was fairly stationary. Once the buffalo were located the Metis erected their lodges usually rough log cabins or tents and prepared to shoot and skin as many buffalo as possible in that area. The buffalo hunt began in southwest Manitoba around 1820 and lasted until By then the remaining buffalo were found only in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Montana. During this period great numbers of buffalo were killed. During World War I trainloads of buffalo bones were shipped from Grand Clariere, Manitoba to chemical plants in eastern Canada. Several distant buffalo runs can still be located along the Souris River. These are places where the buffalo were driven over steep riverbanks to their death below. Some of these sites are found in the Hartney, Lauder and Melita areas. At these locations one finds plenty of buffalo bones at the bottom of the cliffs, and the plains above the cliffs are a great source of projectile points and scrapers. One of the best sites on the Souris is just north east of Hartney where the Indians held their annual fish run. Many trails and routes existed along the Souris Valley even before the advent of the white man. One of them, The Yellow Quill Trail was used by, first of all, Indians, then traders, explorers and finally freighters and buffalo hunters. This trail began twenty miles east of Fort Garry. At this point, a branch called the Missouri Trail turned south west. The Yellow Quill Trail continued west through the sandhills north of Glenboro, to the junction of the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers. From here it followed the north bank of the Souris River just past Fort Brandon, and then past Fort Grant and Fort Desjarlais, near Hartney and Lauder respectively. South of Fort Desjarlais, the Yellow Quill Trail branched, one branch following the river into North Dakota and the other branch turned south east toward the Turtle Mountains, where it linked up with the Mandan Trail. The Yellow Quill Trail was easily seen in the 1930 s by a group of citizens from Souris, headed by the Plaindealer Editor, G. A. McMorran. In 1969 it was still faintly seen in the <2>

3 Fort Desjarlais and Fort Ash areas. The Yellow Quill Trail served the following Forts and Trading Posts: 1.Fort La Reine on the Assiniboine River; 2.Brandon House on the Assiniboine River; 3.Fort Grant on the Souris River; 4.Fort La Souris on the Assiniboine River; 5.Fort Desjarlais on the Souris River; and 6.Fort Garrioch on the Souris River. On the Souris River south west of Hartney was Ash House. It was a canoe fort, and probably not serviced by the Yellow Quill Trail. The Missouri Trail, mentioned before, branched off in the vicinity of St. François Xavier crossing the Boyne River near Carman and extending along the east side of the Turtle Mountains into the Dakotas. It was a route mainly for Indians and buffalo hunters. North of Fort Desjarlais (see map) was a trail sometimes known as the Hudson Bay Trail. It extended from Fort Desjarlais north through the sandhills, past Oak Lake, and then split, one branch going to Fort La Bosse and the other to Brandon House. It was probably a freighters supply route. Another trail was the route of the Warriors running from Devils Lake, North Dakota past the west side of the Turtle Mountains and then north east towards Fort La Reine. It apparently was used by the Sioux raiding parties. The Mandan Trail was another Indian trail which ran from the Mandan villages on the Missouri River north past the Turtle Mountains. It was used by the Mandans and later by the Red River carts in the buffalo hunt. There were certainly many trading posts along the river, some large and some small. The Metis and the Indians of the area told many stories of resting at old trading houses, some of them rude log shelters with mud or clay chimneys and small cellars. There were probably at least 14 trading posts between Souris, Manitoba and the United States border along with several more located in Dakota Territory. The remains of some of them can still be seen. From this we can conclude that Souris River country was a good fur-bearing country. The Turtle Mountains for example, contained moose, buffalo, lynx, bear, plus all the smaller animals. In the Oak Lake area was found great numbers of mink, beaver and muskrat. Furs also were obtained from the Whitewater and Chain Lakes areas. There is also some evidence that the American Indians brought furs to Fort Desjarlais. There is a great scarcity of detailed records regarding history of the Souris River Valley. When I first began my search for them, it seemed that few would be found. But happily, I was mistaken. A considerably number of references to this story were found in old history books, documents, diaries and from old-timers still living in the area. It was after reading the correspondence that transpired between G. A. McMorran, former editor of the Souris Plaindealer, and Dana Wright, former historian with the North Dakota Historical Society, that I decided to collect historical materials regarding the Souris River Valley. In 1934, McMorran and Wright had discovered the sites of several trading posts and forts along the Souris River. They had been helped in this search by a 94 year old Metis woman, Madam La Fontaine, who had lived in one of the forts as a child and as a young woman. <3>

4 Almost at once I was surprised to find living in the area, four descendents of the buffalo hunters of the 1800 s, two descendents of a man who worked in Fort Desjarlais in the 1840 s and 50 s, two descendents of Cuthbert Grant the trader who built Fort Grant on the Souris River in 1824, and finally a man whose father had been a friend of Gabriel Dumont, the famous Indian fighter. I missed a 107 year old lady by two years but her daughter remembered a good deal of the information that had been passed down through the family. In addition several universities and libraries in the United States and Canada were kind enough to send me some revealing transcripts as were several Canadian government agencies. Some archaeologists believe that man first arrived in North America more than 20 thousand years ago. However, stone artifacts from south west Manitoba indicate that men first arrived along the Souris about 10 thousand years ago. These first primitive tribes were hunters of buffalo and other animals. From these early men, who were nomadic, developed more stable groups or tribes such as the Cree, Gros Ventre (Big Bellies) and Chippewa. <4>

5 CHAPTER 1 ORIGINS OF THE SOURIS RIVER AND ITS FIRST INHABITANTS About 15,000 years ago, the Souris Plains were partly covered with a sheet of ice. It took 7,000 years for this ice to melt and drain into Hudson Bay. During the melting period most of the Souris Valley in south western Manitoba was a part of Lake Agassiz as was a portion of the Souris Valley in Saskatchewan The sandhill beaches of this lake are still evident in south western Manitoba. The remnants of an ice-age lake north and west of Weybern, Sask. are the sources of the present Souris River. It was during the Cretaceous period that sandstone sediments were built up on many parts of the prairies. These sandstones often appear in river valleys and are called badlands. East of Estevan, Sask. the Souris River has been excavated in such a way as to expose a weird and wonderful world of badlands, strange sandstone rock formations and weather-shaped hills standing in the bottom of the valley and along its sides. Ravines which feed into the main valley have been eroded to expose soft sandstone rock walls and hoodoos. At the present time the University of Alberta is doing some excavations in one ravine. Excavations along a tributary stream called Long Creek reveal that natives lived there as long ago as 3050 B.C. South of the ghost town of Shand in the same area a Professor Thompson of London, England claimed to have found the fossils of Ichth Ysauri Dinosaurs. The present Souris River has one branch rising in the Yellow Grass marshes north of Weyburn, Sask. Several other branches from the west rising in the Missouri Couteau join the first branch at Goodwater, Sask, and Weybern, Sask. All of these sources rise in what was called a dead ice area from the last glacial lake in the area, The Regina Sea. Winding through two provinces and the state of North Dakota the Souris traverses a distance of about 450 miles and is navigable for much of this distance. The Souris River may not always have followed this course. It is thought that following previous ice ages it may have coursed in a south easterly direction into the Missouri River and thence to the Gulf of Mexico. At certain times of the year in the previous century and in the early part of this one the Souris has heard the whistle of steamboats and barges. One old timer from the Wawanesa area remembers the sound of the whistles and reports have it that steamboats from Scotia, North Dakota tied up at the Souris docks in Manitoba in the early 1900 s. These reports may have grown larger with age as today s river seems navigable for only a short period each year. According to the Bering Straits migration theory some Asiatic peoples moved across a land bridge that existed perhaps 20,000 years ago between Asia and Alaska. This early migration followed the east side of the Rocky Mountains to the south. Under normal conditions this migration might have crossed south western Manitoba. But at that time the last ice age had covered all but the extreme south west corner of Manitoba and did not begin its retreat until about 7,000 years later. So man may alternately have arrived along the Souris about 13,000 years ago. At this time the glacial lakes Agassiz and Souris were being formed and as they eventually dried up sandy beaches were left along their shore line. It is along these beaches that some projectile points called Folsom, about 10,00 years old have been found. Along the Souris River in North Dakota these points are found in large quantities. So Nomadic Man was in the Souris area at this time. <5>

6 Folsom points probably date from 10,000 to 20,000 years. Two older points, Sandia and Clovis, are found along the Souris Valley in North Dakota, the Clovis probably being the ancestor of the Folsom. 1 New evidence of very early migrations to North America by another route has been discovered. Stones with North African inscriptions on them have been found in Canada, the United States, southern Mexico and South America. The inscriptions tell of visits by people from the old world around 500 B.C. This, of course would mean that not all the first native Americans came across the Asian land bridge. Possibly these later visitors may have inter-married with the earlier group producing a race of North Americans not wholly Asiatic. Such a new race could easily have moved northward to settle along the Missouri and Souris Rivers and this would explain the light skinned Mound Builders who appeared in southern Manitoba before 1500 A.D. Such a movement northward from the Gulf of Mexico has been theorized for many years and various speculations concerning it have been put forward. Certainly the greatest Indian Nation to reach the Souris plains were the Sioux (Dakotas). The Sioux arrived in North America during the last Glacial Period, crossing the Bering Straits into Alaska. They then moved south along the Mackenzie River and entered the prairies along the foothills. They settled along the Mississippi River and in the Great Lakes region and according to one American expert may have extended themselves as far east as North Carolina. Nomadic in nature they ranged as far north as the Souris and Qu Appelle Rivers and as far west as the Rockies. In the early 1600 s the Sioux were forced west from the woodlands south of the Great Lakes by the Ojibway who were armed with rifles from the eastern traders. The Sioux made new settlements in Minnesota and the Dakotas. This pressure by the Ojibway continued until 1800 when some of the Santee (one branch of Sioux) moved to Rupertsland (Manitoba today). Other branches, the Oglalla Sioux migrated to South Dakota and the Hunkpapa Sioux to western North Dakota. At one time an Indian Nation called Kiowa lived along the Souris River in Manitoba and North Dakota. In the early 19 th century they began to move south and west along the Missouri and finally south to make a permanent home in Colorado. There migration can be traced by the trail of two and three-ring stone axe heads they left along their route. Many of these axe heads have been found in south western Manitoba (they can be seen in the museums at Boissevain and Melita). 2 Earth mound villages have been found on the Souris River near Minot, North Dakota and Coulter, Manitoba. Some of these can be credited to a group of Indians called Hidatsa who may have moved north form the Gulf of Mexico about 1600 A.D. However, it is believed that the Hidatsa were relatives of an earlier group of Mound Builders who lived in the Souris-Antler River area some years earlier. Both groups disappeared except for a few remaining Hidatsa who were located along the Missouri in In the summer of 1796 an American, John Evan, was hired by the Missouri Fur Company of St. Louis to find the lost legendary Welsh Indians supposedly living north of the Missouri River, and at the same time engaged in fur trade with the Mandans. According to Welsh history a Prince Madoc reached America from Wales about E. Milligan, Known Migrations of Historic Indian Tribes, Courant Press, Bottineau, N.D E. Milligan, Known Migrations of Historic Indian Tribes, Courant Press, Bottineau, N.D <6>

7 A.D. and disappeared with his followers into the interior. If this did happen there is reason to believe these people would have assimilated with the Indians. In any case a fair skinned light haired race of people were reported on the Souris River abut They were probably descendents of an earlier race of mound builders who lived on the Souris and South Antler Rivers at a much earlier date, Remnants of their mound and earthwork fortifications can still be seen south of Melita along the Souris and Antler Rivers. The earthworks were in triangular form or in some cases in a sort of tandem form approximately six feet high and about two hundred yards to a side. Strangely enough the mound builders did work with copper metal just as the Welsh miners had done on the east coast of England. In some of the mounds skeletons were found wearing metal ornaments. Mound excavations along the Souris River have yielded: 1. copper breast ornaments; 2. copper head ornaments; 3. copper bracelets; 4. copper pots; 5. clay pots; and 6. bone implements, one of which may have been surgical nature. The earth fortifications were for protection against the Indians, who are believed to have, in earlier times, followed them north from Central America. By the end of the 17 th century these white Indians had been destroyed. Today there are only a few mounds left. A few were excavated, but many were broken up by curiosity seekers and farm implements. The fortifications, once six feet high, have been reduced to eighteen inch ridges. A recent excavation by archaeologists, north of Deloraine, revealed thirteen skeletons arranged in a circular fashion. Around the skulls were copper bracelets. <7>

8 CHAPTER 2 INDIAN MIGRATIONS, NATIONS AND WARS The Sioux nation was divided into eight branches of which the Dakotas were the largest. The Dakotas were in turn divided into thirteen branches. The most important branches, as far as the Souris Plains is concerned, were: the Santee from western Minnesota and later southern Manitoba; the Wapheton from Minnesota; the Sisseton from eastern North Dakota; the Yanton from central North Dakota. It was from this group that the Assiniboines broke away in the 17 th century and settled along the Souris River and in the Turtle Mountains. The Hunkpapa from Minnesota and later eastern Montana and moving into plains on occasions; and The Oglalla from Dakota territory and who, along with the Hunkpapa, formed the Teton alliance. In 1640 the Sioux obtained horses from the Spaniards or more likely from Indians living in close proximity to the Spaniards. This enabled them to range over greater territories and would bring them more and more into the Souris Plains. By 1650 two tribes had semi-permanent homes along the Souris. Along with the Assiniboines were the Gros Ventres. The Gros Ventres had inhabited the area west of the Souris River from Oak Lake to the Moose Mountains and south into the Dakotas. Moving into the Souris area on frequent occasions came the Sioux. At first these trips were to attack and punish the Assiniboines but later they came to attack the traders and trading posts and still later they came to settle permanently along the Souris River. When the Hidatsa first came into Dakota territory from the south they settled along the Missouri River near the Mandans. Later they moved north west to the Knife River where they thought that a splinter group moved north settling along the Souris River near Minot, North Dakota. The Hidatsa built earth lodge villages and the remains of such villages can bee seen east of the Souris River in Manitoba not far from the village of Coulter. This site may have been the work of an earlier group of Mound Builders. 2A Early in the 1600 s the Assiniboine Dakotas had split off from the Sioux nation. They were members of the Yankton branch in Central Dakota. The quarrel was over a trivial incident but it would to 200 years of warfare between Sioux and Assiniboine, much of it along the Souris River. The Assiniboines moved north to Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba but a new quarrel with the Cree Indians forced them to move west to the Souris River and Turtle Mountain areas. Shortly after this they formed an alliance with the Cree and Ojibway for defense against the Sioux who continued to press north. For the next 100 years the Assiniboines prospered and multiplied. By 1800 they were 28,000 strong across Manitoba with more than 10,000 in the Turtle Mountains alone. They had many villages along the Souris River and these were periodically attacked by the Sioux. 2A The Great Canadian Northwest, Gaire, Lille, France, <8>

9 After 1670 the Assiniboines began the long trip down the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers and then north through Lake Winnipeg to the English forts on the shores of Hudson Bay. In order to intercept this trade for the French Montreal interests, La Verendrye built Fort La Reine on the Assiniboine in 1738, By 1750 the Assiniboines had spread up the Souris River into the Saskatchewan area, settling along the river not far from Roche Percee and also in the Moose Mountains. This part of the Souris Valley and some of its tributary ravines are noted for their strange rock formations. The Sioux had already laid claim to this area and the two tribes soon became involved in warfare over ownership of the valley. The Assiniboines gained mobility on the plains in 1750 when they obtained horses. The horses had actually developed in North America and then about 30,000 years ago migrated to Asia, probably across a land bridge between Alaska and Siberia. In 1534 the Spaniards brought the horse back to America. Some escaped and wile horse bands were established in the mountains of California. Eventually they were captured and tamed by the Apache and Commanche Indians and by trading or stealing the Sioux and Assiniboine obtained them. According to Alexander Henry the Assiniboines were the most skillful of all the Plains Indians in the art of horse stealing. They would patiently follow traders for days until the right moment for stealing the horses came. They also enjoyed selling some of their horses to a trader and then stealing them back. According to the son of one of the buffalo hunters along the Souris River both his father and his grandfather referred to the Assiniboines as Horse Indians. In one battle near Fort Desjarlais, the Horse Indians attacked another group of Indians killing several. Their graves can be seen in the area. Around 1660 the Santee and Yankton Dakota from western Minnesota and central North Dakota began moving into British Canada to fight the Cree, Ojibway and Assiniboines. The battles with the Assiniboines took place along the Souris and in the Turtles. It was about this time the Santee and Yankton began to claim southern Manitoba as their exclusive hunting grounds and continued that claim right up to the time they were granted small reservations by Canada in the late 19 th century. These claims included the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers. In the latter half of the 17 th century the Sioux were getting arms from French fur traders who arrived in Sioux country about By the end of this century the Sioux had contacted British traders in the Hudson Bay area and were getting their supplies from this source. Only one attempt to Christianize the Sioux was recorded in the 1600 s and that was by Father Rene Menard, who established a mission somewhere in Sioux territory. He was not seen again but the Sioux are said to have preserved his cassock as a sacred symbol. The Sioux attacked the Assiniboines on several occasions in the late 1600 s. The last attack occurred in 1691 when the Yanktons located the Sioux in the Turtle Mountains. In the early 1700 s the Sioux continued their wars with the Ojibway and Assiniboines. In 1732 they attacked the Ojibway west of Lake Winnipeg and in 1748 they traveled up the Souris River to attack the Assiniboines and also the French traders at Fort La Reine. From 1770 to 1778 the Assiniboines carried corn and furs from the <9>

10 Mandan Country up the Souris River to Fort La Reine, although they had been expressly warned by the Sioux not to traffic with the Whiteman. In 1780 many Sioux Chiefs received medals of King George III for fighting on the British side during the American Revolution. Chiefs of the following Dakota Nations received these medals: Yankton, Sisseton, Wapheton and Hunkpapas. In the last half of the 18 th century the Sioux, armed with Hudson Bay Company muskets roamed the Souris River attacking Assiniboines and traders alike. In 1781 they combined with the Madans to attack the Assiniboine villages in the Turtle Mountains and continued these attacks along the Souris in 1786 and In 1795 they attacked McDonnells House and Brandon House #1 at the mouth of the Souris. One year later they advanced up the river to attack the Assiniboines who had established a village near present day Lauder. It was at this point that the Northwest Company occupants of Fort Ash decided to vacate their fort. Records of Sioux dealing with white traders in the later years of the 18 th century are few and this probably reflects the Sioux s increased determination to keep white traders out of territory they considered theirs. In the war of between the British and the Americans, the Sioux once again fought on the British side. British flags and medals were once more distributed to Yanktons, Sissetons, Hunkpapas as well as Little Crow, Chief of the Santee. Years later their relatives would seek help from the British and show these medals to the Manitoba authorities. It was during this war that the Sioux brought a captured American cannon to Fort Garry. The British authorities at the fort named the cannon Little Dakota and promised to aid the Sioux whenever they were in trouble. Some of the Sioux, pursued by the American army, fled into the Turtles which prompted one Canadian historian to believe the American invaded Manitoba in This might have been true except for the fact that the boundary was not decided on until As the Sioux had little understanding of boundaries or political divisions they did not realize that all the land would be divided between the British and the Americans. Dakota Indians believed the land was free to all, to roam, hunt and fights as they pleased. Also in the last few years of the 19 th century the Sioux continued to attack the Assiniboine villages on the Souris River. In 1815 they wiped out the Gros Ventre Nations who were living at this time at the junction of the Souris and South Antler Rivers. In this period too, the Metis were conducting small buffalo hunts out of Fort Garry in preparation for the great hunts which would come later along the Souris. It was in the first part of the century that the Assiniboines along the Souris suffered from great smallpox epidemics. Estimated at 10,000 strong in the Turtle Mountains in 1806 they were reduced to 4,000 by A small part of the attrition was due to war with the Sioux. But well into the 1830 s the Assiniboines were still a force to be reckoned with. The 1830 s was a period of intense warfare for the Sioux and Assiniboine and much of the conflict centered around a strange area on the Souris River near Roche Percee, Sask. It was a war between the Sioux and an alliance of Assiniboines, Cree and Ojibway. But, at the heart of this war was a conflict between Sioux and Assiniboine over some strange rock formations found along the Souris and one of its tributaries called Short Creek. This portion of the Souris River in question extended east from Roche <10>

11 Percee to Riviere Des Lacs (see map) and was considered a holy area by both Indian Nations. The valley at this point is about 165 feet deep and is rather rough as well. Short deep canyons run into the valley for a few miles in the area. Along the sides of the valley are found decomposing sandstones, parts of which are made of a harder material. The results are strange mushroom shaped pillars (called Hoodoos). One of the pillars is perforated by a large hole and so the name Roche Percee. The Indians in the past believed the place sacred and when passing the hoodoos rubbed vermillion on them or put gifts of beads, tobacco, etc. in the caves in the area. The natives in the previous century believe that in the past a temple had been raised on this spot to some great Manitou and the scattered stones were an arch of the doorway. The idea of a great stone temple on this spot is not unbelievable. A short distance to the south at Rutland, North Dakota, it is known that the Sioux had a stone temple. Until a few years ago the Sioux considered its remains sacred. One of the rock remnants in this old ruin is believe to have an astronomical significance. 2B Rock remnants have also been found in the Moose Mountains. There, a medicine wheel may have had directional or astronomical significance. South west of Lauder, Manitoba, stones were laid out in the form of a serpent but no one seems to know what meaning, if any, this site had. However, any concrete evidence of a temple at Roche Percee would be from the carvings (petroglyps) on some of the strange rocks. These carvings of men, deer, fish, turtles and rough sculptures of tents and stars appear to have been done by the Sioux, at least L. A. Prudhomme believes they are indicative of Siouan style. Some of the carvings are of horses so we know that at least some of this work was done by Plains Indians who only acquired horses in the 1700 s. The contest between Sioux and Assiniboine for mastery of these strange canyons has never been fully settled although the Sioux were probably in control of the area more than the Assiniboines. According to Assiniboine legend the Assiniboines stopped at Roche Percee every Spring and Fall to pay homage and Chief Ochankugahe, in this century, claimed that it was formerly an Assiniboine Shrine. But in 1738 La Verendrye called it a Sioux Shrine and Roche Percee residents today refer to it as a former Sioux Shrine, claiming that the Sioux had more than one sacred place in the valley. A Northwest Mounted Police report in the previous century is alleged to refer to Sioux Shrines in the area. However the R.C.M.P. archives in Ottawa were unable to come up with exact report. The Assiniboines arrived in this valley in the late 1700 s and while camping there a chief claimed to have had a vision in which a ghostly spectre talked to him. But the Sioux had been in the valley before this. In the early part of the present century the Sioux came back to Roche Percee to hold dances at their shrine. This shrine on the side of the valley was destroyed when coal mining operations came too close to the edge and the shrine was buried by tons of earth. The Sioux then moved to a different area in the valley and warned curious white onlookers not to approach their new shrine. No one in the valley today seems to know exactly where it was located, but a beautiful canyon to the east, which I shall describe later, may be the place. 2B Petroglyphs, Pictographs, Prehistoric Art in the Upper Missouri and Red River. E. Milligan, Courant Press, Bottineau, N.D <11>

12 In 1830 a large band of Assiniboines marched west to attack the Sioux in Souris Valley near Roche Percee. They sent warriors ahead to scout the area. As the scouts approached La Rivieres des Lacs they climbed a large hill and found a Sioux sentinel asleep whom they killed. The main Sioux Band soon found their murdered sentinel and withdrew to Roche Percee. The Assiniboines moved up the Souris Valley to attack but the Sioux were victorious. The hill where the sentry was killed is still called The Hill of the Murdered Scout and readily seen from Highway 9. Today the pictures on the rocks at Roche Percee have been almost destroyed by vandals but they still have that mysterious appearance and are worth a visit. Among the rocks are found a few small caves. To the east about four miles down the valley is a curious flat-topped hill symmetric in every way. It stands like a butte in the middle of the valley and is called Sugar Loaf Mountain by the valley residents. At its base on one side is the entrance to a deep shaft coal mine, no longer in use. Old timers suggest that this hill was sacred to the Sioux and its flat top was used for certain dances. When the Sioux Shrine was destroyed by coal mining operations, they may have moved still further down the valley to another canyon. The hoodoos and other strange rock formations in this canyon are well worth the climb to see them (permission is required). Rock walls, hoodoos and a special rock throne chair which hangs out over the canyon can easily be reached. The throne or armchair is about 20 feet high, inclined a little with huge legs that extend over the canyon. Sitting in such a chair gives one a feeling of insignificance. However, one old resident tells me that she does not believe the canyon just described was the second sacred place of the Sioux. She claimed to have heard that I was further to the south but in the short time available to me, I was only able to find a more southerly canyon of any significance. In 1831 the Sioux returned the Assiniboine attack moving east down the Souris River into Manitoba. They turned north where they met a Metis Buffalo Brigade returning from the Moose Mountains. The buffalo hunters, as usual, formed a circle with their cars and held off the attackers. This attack took place to the west of Oak Lake. In the same year, Sioux war parties forced the forts at the mouth of the Souris to close. In 1834 warfare occurred once more as the Sioux descended the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers to Fort Garry. Here they warred briefly with the Saulteaux Indians. This battle was stopped by Cuthbert Grant s Metis who escorted the Sioux south toward the Turtle Mountains. In 1838 the Sioux again moved up the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers to attack the settlement at Fort Garry. The settlement was defended by the Metis from St. Francois Xavier who dug rifle pits to hold off the invaders. In the same year smallpox once again struck the Assiniboines who were now reduced in numbers to less than 4,000 from the original 10,000. The Hunkpapa made occasional sorties into the Souris area. In 1840 they attacked an Assiniboine camp at the west end of the Moose Mountains. Many prisoners were captured and the Assiniboines are reported to have been so decimated by recent smallpox epidemics that they were unable to muster enough warriors to seek revenge. More battles occurred between the Sioux and the Saulteaux in 1844, 1845 and In 1845 Cuthbert Grant attempted to bring peace to the warring Nations. The <12>

13 Peace Meeting was held north of the Souris River in the Moose Mountains and Grant was able to affect a temporary peace. In 1849, there was great resentment by the Red River Colony Metis against the Hudson Bay Company over the fur trade. The Company had forbidden the Metis to engage in the fur trade. The Metis turned to their long time enemies, the Sioux, and tried to persuade them to attack the forts on the Souris, Assiniboine and Qu Appelle Rivers. The final attack was to be on Hudson Bay Headquarters at Fort Garry. However, a severe outbreak of measles put a stop to this plan. By 1851 the Santee Sioux had ceded to the United States most of their territory except for a small stretch along the Minnesota River. The Treaty signing away their lands took place in 1851 when Governor Ramsey of Minnesota came to Canada, met the Sioux, and made a Treaty for the extinction of their land claims in Minnesota. This is surely proof that the Sioux were in Canada before 1862 when the Minnesota Massacres took place and that their claim to Canadian lands had some basis. The annual payment of money and goods for this land was left up to Indian Agents who made it their business to cheat the Sioux of their annuity. In June of 1862 the annuity payment itself was not sent out by the American Government and the Indians, unable to pay their bills, could not buy food and were on the verge of starvation. One of the storekeepers in the area is supposed to have said, If they are hungry, let them eat grass. Whether this was true or not it was probably a typical attitude of too many whites. Of course there were a few bad Indians who contributed to the Minnesota outbreak as well. A Chief Inkpaduta had massacred some whites I 1857 and remained unpunished. But most of the Sioux were willing to live in peace in spite of the many grievances they felt against the whites. Finally, in August 1862 several thousand starving Indians broke into a Government storehouse and took the food they needed. The leader of the Sioux was Little Crow, a Santee Chief, who tried to unite the various Sioux branches in a war against the whiteman. Not all the Sioux united in this war, but at least some of the Santee, Sisseton, Wapheton and Yankton were involved. But many tried to help the whites. The Sissetons protected white prisoners, while a Santee Chief, Standing Buffalo, along with his warriors tried to rescue the prisoners. Unfortunately, the Americans would punish all the Indians, regardless of their innocence or guilt. The Sioux knew this would happen and some Sissetons and Waphetons moved into the Missouri and Souris River areas of North Dakota and Manitoba, believing they would be safer there. After several engagements the rebels were defeated by the American Army and many Sioux, Santee, Sisseton and Wapheton fled to Manitoba, to Fort Garry, Portage, the Turtle Mountains and the Souris River. Others fled to the Missouri Couteau to the west of the Souris River in Dakota. The Sioux claimed to have lived in these areas before 1862 and most certainly some of them did, especially along the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers. Wearing their George III medals, they asked for protection from the American Army. The first groups were made up of 1,000 starving people. The British Authorities supplied some food and urged them to return to Minnesota (forgotten was the promise made in 1812). <13>

14 Most of the Dakotas who fled north carried only small goods. These included copper pots containing, in some cases, gold coins which was their treaty money currency. This treaty money was for large tracts of land they had ceded to the Americans in 1815, 1836 and Some of this money and the copper pots arrived in Canada and the pots can still be seen on some reservations, but much of it was lost as the Sioux fled north and some was even turned up in the later years by cultivation. 2C Chief Little Crow and his warriors now camped in the Turtle Mountains in Dakota Territory. Here they were visited by Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Medicine Man. In December 1862, 500 of this group moved north to the Assiniboine River about ten miles west of Fort Garry. In May, 1863, Chief Little Crow arrived at Fort Garry displaying George III medals and asserting that the Sioux had always been allies of the British, he demanded food for his hungry people. The Governor of the Red River Colony gave Little Crow food but no ammunition as they settlers were afraid of the Sioux. During this visit, Chief Little Crow and some of his warriors joined the Metis on one of the last buffalo hunts to the Souris River. ON this hunt a herd was not located, only isolated buffalo and mostly bulls. In the autumn of 1863, the American authorities sent a priest, Father Andre, to a large Sioux camp on the Souris Rive (west of present day Lauder). His mission was to persuade this band of Sioux to return home. Father Andre reported that the Sioux did not seem to care whether they lived or died, but they refused to return to the United States. In December, 1863 about 500 Sioux crossed the border and camped on the Assiniboine River, near St. Francois Xavier. Here they were helped by the Metis who had signed a Peace Treaty with the Sioux in The Grey Nuns, a small convent at St. Francois Xavier, established in 1859, fed many of the children. Also, in the autumn of 1863, several hundred Sioux arrived in the Turtle Mountains, along with their white prisoners. They also were in a state of starvation, and failing to get much help from the Canadian Authorities they made raids into the U.S. to hunt buffalo. The Sioux were now spread out across southern Manitoba, camped on the Souris River in two places and at Fort Garry. Farther west they were crossing the border to camp along the Souris River in southern Saskatchewan. The American Authorities exerted great pressure on the Canadians to force the Sioux back to the U.S. One of the attempts was through Gabriel Dumont (of Riel fame) who tried to negotiate the Sioux along the Souris River and in the Turtles back to the U.S. Dumont was not successful. Most of the Sioux in Canada at this time were Santee. In the Dakotas many Sissetons and Waphetons were still camped along the Missouri River and were being harassed by the American Army. They too, began to look at their countrymen camped along the Souris in Canadian territory. The Sisseton along the Missouri was led by Standing Buffalo, the Chief who had protected the white prisoners in Minnesota. In the spring of 1863 they were attacked by units of the American Army. At least 800 lodges of Sisseton and Waphetons crossed to the north side of the Missouri River followed by the Americans. Standing Buffalo led the defense and the Sissetons escaped under cover of darkness. In the meantime, a large band of Hunkpapa Sioux had followed the Americans across the Missouri and were 2C Interview with Residents of Sioux Valley Reservation, Griswold, Manitoba. <14>

15 Preparing to attack. With this later group was Sitting Bull and they were joined by the Renegade Chief, Inkpaduta. In the battles that followed, the Sioux were defeated and the Sisseton and Wapheton groups continued to retreat toward the Souris Valley and the Turtle Mountains. Early in 1864 a final battle took place in this war and 3,000 Sissetons now retreated to the Souris River. But by April, 1864, they were living once more on the banks of the Missouri. Finally, in June, they learned of another American Army moving toward them and they fled to Canada permanently. First of all, Standing Buffalo led his people to the Souris River south east of the Moose Mountains. Here he concluded a Peace Treaty with the Canadian Cree and Saulteaux. For the next two years until 1866 the Sioux wandered the Manitoba Plains from Fort Garry on the east to the Souris River Plains in the west. They did not receive any supplies from the Fort Garry Authorities and existed only on the few buffalo left on the plains. At times they were attacked by jealous Canadian Indians. In 1865 they were engaged by the Cree, north of the Souris River, in the vicinity of present day Deleau. According to a member of the Oak Lake Sioux reserve, the battle took place in a group of sandhills to the north east of the village and ended only when on e of the chiefs was killed. However, in spite of great suffering the Dakotas tried to obey the laws of Grandmother s country (Canada) and eventually were given small reservations. In this regard the Canadian authorities refused to consider Sioux claims to land ownership north of the 49 th parallel and this meant they would not receive treaty money from the Canadian government. By this time, the white settlers had overcome their fear of the Sioux and looked on these Indians with favor. While waiting for the Canadian Government to give them land, many Sioux men and women hired out to the white farmers who found them industrious and thrifty. Finally, in 1867 many of the Portage Dakota began to move west, ending up along the Souris River and in the Moose Mountains. One of them was Chief Standing Buffalo. In 1868 an International Meeting of Indians was held in the Turtle Mountains. The meeting was chaired by the Oglalla Chief, Crazy Horse, who pleased for the unification of all tribes to defeat the whites. These pleas were rejected and the Sioux were left alone to stem the tide of Whiteman expansion. 2D In 1869 an exodus began from west to east. A large band of Sioux left the Souris River area and traveled to Portage la Prairie, where they refused to support Louis Riel in the coming Manitoba Rebellion. Evidently afraid that he might get drawn into this Rebellion, Standing Buffalo and his followers returned west to the Souris River in the same year, camping near Estevan, Saskatchewan. Here he became engaged in warfare with the Crow Indians. In the final battles between the Crows and the Dakotas on the banks of the Souris River, Standing Buffalo was slain. By this time, the Assiniboines had all migrated from the Souris. Their numbers greatly reduced by smallpox (the greatest epidemic was in 1838) they followed the few remaining buffalo west. Eventually they were paced on reservations in the Moose Mountains and in the foothills of the Rockies. Of the 10,000 that Alexander Henry estimated in 1806, only a few hundred remained. 2D Dakota Twilight, E. Milligan, Exposition Press, New York, <15>

16 Their last great victory in war occurred in 1832, when about 60 Assiniboine warriors traveled south from the Souris River to Fort Buford, a trading post at the junction of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. Here they attacked and defeated a large bank of Blackfeet, capturing about 400 horses in the action. The Sisseton and Wapheton Sioux continued to camp along the Souris and Qu Appelle River. They were now led by the son of Standing Buffalo. In the Moose Mountains a group of Assiniboines were establishing a camp. In 1870, more Sioux arrived from the Dakotas and they camped along the Souris north west of present day Lauder. In 1874, the newly created Northwest Mounted Police marched west from Dufferin, Manitoba, on passing the Turtle Mountains they had a brief glimpse of some of the Minnesota Sioux and their white captives. They continued to march west and camped along the Souris River at Roche Percee where they noticed the Indian carvings on the rock walls. A few miles further west they came across an Indian Band who called themselves Sippeton Sioux. This seems to be the only reference made to such a Siouan Tribe. In 1875, a Sioux Reserve was established at the junction of the Assiniboine and Oak Rivers. This is the Oak River Reserve although it is often referred to as Sioux Valley. Today it has a population of around 1,000 people, most of whom are Santee. At least two families on the Reserve claim their relatives were involved in the Custer Massacre. Also, 1875, a reservation was established at Birdtail Creek near Fort Ellice on the Assiniboine. These were Wahpetons under Chief Mahpiyaduta. Born in 1831, the great Hunkpapa Medicine Man, Chief Sitting Bull, probably entered Canada only once and that was following the Custer Massacre in At this time, he was in the Wood Mountains and Qu Appelle area. However, his military actions resulted in many Sioux entering Canada, some arriving in the Turtle Mountains, and others along the Souris River. The western Sioux, Oglallas and Hunkpapas, along with the Santee realized by 1870, that the Americans intended to take their homeland regardless of the terms of the Laramie Treaties of 1851 and War with the U.S. Army followed with the Sioux winning two great victories against General Crook and General Custer. But, then fortunes changed and the Sioux began the long migration to Canada in According to L.C. Lockwood, a civilian Scout and Custer s Troops in 1876, following the Custer Massacre, one band of Sioux escaped to the Turtle Mountain camping on the Canadian side beside Lake Flossie. From there they sent raiding parties into the Dakotas to attack army units and American settlements. To counteract his, the U.S. 7 th Cavalry was sent north to patrol the Canadian border along the Souris River and Turtle Mountains. These attacks by the Sioux continued for two years. In 1878, the U.S. Army still kept pickets at Fort Lincoln (present day Bismark) on the Missouri River, as the Sioux from the Turtles had attacked the fort several times. It appears that this band of Sioux, probably Hunkpapas, maintained this Turtle Mountain stronghold until 1885 and probably later. By the end of 1876 more than 7,000 Sioux had crossed the Medicine line into Canada. Many of them camped in the Wood Mountains, the source of the Souris River. Among this group was White Eagle, a Santee Chief, who arrived with about 600 <16>

17 followers. At a later date, he and some of his followers would more to the Sioux Valley Reserve on the Assiniboine. In 1879 some of the Manitoba Sioux joined one of the last Metis buffalo hunting parties, a group of 500 men, women and children. While hunting along the Souris River in Dakota they were attacked by General Miles and the American Cavalry. The Sioux were forced to withdraw to Canada but the Metis were taken prisoner. The American authorities then tried to settle the Metis permanently in the Turtle Mountains and on the American side. This may have been the beginning of a Metis settlement that exists in the Turtles today. Several lodges of Hunkpapas arrived at Moose Jaw, Sask., in They had been camping on the Souris River near Estevan for a year and would return there several more times before establishing a permanent camp along the Moose Jaw River. In 1878 they were moved but it is not clear just where. It may have been to Qu Appelle or back to the United States. We had previously referred to the outlaw Chief Inkpaduta. In 1862 he fled the Minnesota massacre into Dakota Territory and on December 4 th, 1863 he was driven north into Canada by General Sully. He made his headquarters in the Turtles and from the Canadian side made repeated raids into the United States until He then moved to Montana to join Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. After the Custer Massacre in 1876 he returned to Canada and the Turtle Mountains with about 25 families. He lived there until 1878 at which time he moved to a temporary encampment on the Souris River. It is believed that Chief Inkpaduta spent his remaining days on a reserve in Saskatchewan. A large number of Santee Sioux had lived in the Turtle Mountains and along the Souris River since In 1872 the Sioux along the river moved to a proposed reservation just south and west of Grande. Clariere. This temporary 36 square mile reserve was only in use for a short time until a permanent reserve was set up. In 1877 the Santee Sioux, in the Turtles, request a reserve from the Manitoba Lieutenant-Governor. This was granted them on their promise not to aid the American Sioux, who were still at war with the American authorities, and in 1878 they received a reserve north of Pipestone near Oak Lake. Today this is called the Oak Lake Reserve. In the same year a Turtle Mountain Reserve was established for a group of Wapheton Sioux and some Hunkpapas from Lake Flossie. This reserve operated until 1907 when its residents were moved to the Oak Lake Reserve. In 1908 then the Oak Lake Reserve included Waphetons, Santee, a few Hunkpapas and some descendents of Chief Inkpaduta (Santess outlawed before 1862 by the main Santee Nation). Before the establishment of the reserves starting in 1875 there were about 1,300 Sioux lodges scattered throughout western Canada. If one ignores the continual movements of the various bands from one place to another we might place the lodges as follows: there were Hunkpapas, Sissetons and Santee at Wood Mountains; Santee and Sisseton along the Souris River in Manitoba and Saskatchewan; Waphetons and Santee along the Assiniboine and at Portage La Prairie; Santee in the Turtle Mountains and Hunkpapa along the Moose Jaw River. After the death of Standing Buffalo along the Souris River in Saskatchewan, his son became the new Chief. He led his band of Sissetons and Waphetons north to the Qu Appelle River where they were granted a reserve in However they continued to roam for a few more years reaching the Souris River on several occasions. Eventually <17>